Ringke Wave Case for Galaxy S9+ review: Bold beauty, slick protection

As the owner of a blue Samsung Galaxy S9+, when I went shopping for a case to protect my shiny new behemoth, I ran into a bit of a problem. Most of the cases available fell into one of two equally undesirable camps: sensible, black bores or bulky, bedazzled beauty school flunk-outs. Adding injury to insult, while there are plenty of violet cases for the Lilac Purple, cases matching the Coral Blue's cerulean majesty are hard to come by.

My Galaxy S9+ is a stylish phone, and it deserves a case that offers style without breaking out the glitter pens. Luckily, Ringke understands that a beautiful, blue phone deserves a beautiful, blue case, and so it's given us the Ringke Wave case for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+.

The Bad

Stylish and sturdy

Ringke Wave Case What I like

The Ringke Wave case is a dual layer case made up of a hard-shell polycarbonate bumper and softer TPU case that grips the Galaxy S9+'s every curve securely and helps absorb the force of a screen-shattering drop. I have yet to find a USB-C charger that doesn't play nice with the Wave's ample port cutouts, and the gentle slope below the fingerprint sensor help guide your finger up into place without going too far and smudging the camera lens.

The lip around the camera and on the front of the phone is tall enough to keep your phone's glass from scratching on a dirty tabletop but shallow enough that the screen is still usable from edge to edge. The top and bottom lip on the screen are a hair more pronounced that the gently sloping side, giving you a tiny lip to grip. Ringke made the Wave's buttons are solid but not stiff, and the Bixby button is textured to help users avoid hitting it when reaching for the volume rocker.

Ringke sells the Wave case in five colors, and each one is drop-dead gorgeous. In addition to the model-matching Metallic Chrome, Metallic Purple, and Coastal Blue, there's a navy-gold Marina Gold version and Rose Blush variant that sports a rose gold bumper and burgundy TPU layer.

Slip and grip

Ringke Wave Case What doesn't work

I remove and reapply cases to my phones quite frequently — I'll swap cases, take it off for a photo or 20, run my phone through my PhoneSoap once in a while to help keep the bacteria at bay — and that is the one time this dual-layer case feels bulky and awkward. Getting this case off is a breeze; unlike most dual-layer cases, Ringke gives the Wave's polycarbonate bumper just enough give to get a corner free and slip the case off with very little effort.

Putting the case back on, however, is a hair more tedious. The bumper grips the TPU sleeve via 11 super-thin clips, and these clips grip the case firmly even when you slip the phone out of it. To just get the case back on, you need to coax the TPU sleeve away from those clips — the easiest way to do this once the phone is out is to slip your finger between the bumper and sleeve in the middle of the case back and slowly push up on the sleeve. Those stiff clips also need a bit of force to line them up and push them into their specific grooves in the sleeve, so double check every seam before going about your day.

Hold it tightly, but it still might slip from time to time.

Ringke's Wave case features a beautifully sculpted back, which sits flat on a desktop or in a cradle, but those curves help give grip to a slick case. The case won't slide around on a marble kitchen counter or glass coffee table, but the sides of the case are dominated by the hard plastic bumper, which can get a little slippery in the hand, especially here in the Texas heat.

Hoping to help my grip and improve my one-handed use of this super-sized flagship, I purchased a thin phone ring for the Samsung Galaxy S9+. When it came time to apply said ring, I found that there wasn't a good place to stick it; the waves were just too choppy for the 3M to get a good grip.

Ringke doesn't suggest using such accessories on the Wave case, but since the particular ring I'd ordered was rather small, I managed to find a flat enough patch on the lower right side of the case back that has worked well for me. It's not quite as steady in the hand, but it gives me extra grip and I appreciate it. If you use a Popsocket or Ringke Ring with a larger footprint, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Ride the wave with slick style

Ringke Wave Case for Samsung Galaxy S9+

I've used the Ringke Wave case on my Galaxy S9+ for almost three months now. It is the case that I chose after days and days of searching, the phone I spent my own money on to keep my Kaiju safe. It's not quite perfect, especially as the Texas heat makes my palms sweaty and my Wave case slips a bit in my hand. It features one of the better color selections for an S9+ case, but I keep dreaming of mixing and matching colors between the standard models.

4out of 5

The Ringke Wave Case for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ is a case that offers sophistication and style without sacrificing device safety or function. While a Popsocket or Ringke Ring may not grip well to the Wave's sculpted back, why would you want to ruin this case's oceanic beauty with one of those?

Ara Wagoner

Ara Wagoner is a Writer at Android Central. She themes phones and pokes Google Play Music with a stick. When she's not writing help and how-to's, she's off dreaming about Disney and singing show tunes. If you see her without headphones, RUN. You can follow her on Twitter at @arawagco.